Dodgers Pick Up Tony Watson From Pirates

With less than an hour to go at this year’s deadline, the Dodgers made a pair of moves to bolster what already looks like a championship-caliber club. The big move was adding Rangers ace Yu Darvish to their rotation, but they also bolstered their bullpen by adding Pirates reliever Tony Watson to the mix.

Watson solidifies the Dodgers’ bridge to all-world closer Kenley Jansen that has already seen injuries to Chris Hatcher, Adam Liberatore and Grant Dayton. They recently dealt slider specialist Sergio Romo to the Rays and have gotten productive years out of Pedro Baez and Josh Fields as well. This move adds a second lefthander to the 'pen behind Luis Avilan.

In return, the Pirates got a pair of low-level, lottery ticket-type prospects to add to a farm system that is middling behind top-tier prospects Austin Meadows and Mitch Keller.

At 6-foot-6, Cruz is one of the largest shortstops in the game. For that reason, it’s hard to find scouts who believe he can stay at the position long-term. In fact, there are scouts who believe he’s likely to be a first baseman or an outfielder as he develops and potentially gets bigger. He’s got a big arm at the position, so he might be better suited for the outfield. He’s got big-time power, too, but there are holes in his swing, which might explain his nearly 30 percent strikeout rate, though being 18 years old in low Class A factors there too. If he moves to the outfield, his above-average power would help him profile in a corner.

Like Cruz, German is a lottery ticket. He’s got a big arm that produces mid-90s fastballs and has touched 100 mph. The secondaries, which include a slider that is extremely inconsistent but flashes above-average and a developing changeup, have left something to be desired. His command and control are below-average, and he’s walked nearly four hitters per nine innings at low Class A. He could develop into a future setup man thanks to his power arm, but he’s a long way from that ceiling.

The Dodgers needed a second lefthander for their bullpen, and they achieved that goal with the acquisition of Watson, who was an All-Star three seasons ago. He’s been subpar this year, and is still best used as a left-on-left specialist. He hasn’t performed well this year, allowing 11 hits per nine innings in a relief role. Most discouragingly, lefties have hit .303 against him.